The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-04-15
JESS.
ny H.RlDER HAcGARp.
RaR'T's'iQes solemoH, 1uees ShIEle,

M u way tuuVS uO uOuOts ACuuV uuuptcI upi
things, but which did not convey much to hi
astonished guest, who sat still and said nott
ing. Then Bessie got up and babe him good
night in her pleasant voice, and with house
wifely care inquired as to whether his roor
was to his liking, and how many blankets
liked upon his bed, telling him that II b
near the veranda, too strong, he had bette
shut the right hand window and open that o.
the other side of the room; and then a
head, she went OFF, looking, he thought as h
watched her retreating figure, about a
healthy, graceful and generally satisfactor,
young woman rs a man could wish to see
"Take glass Of grog, Capt. Mel" said tn
old man, pushing the square bottle towart
him. "you'n need it after the mauling tina
brute gave you. BY the way, haven
thanked you enough for saving my Bessie
But l do thank you, yes, that do. mus
tell you that Bessie is my favorite niece
Never was there such girl-never. Moves
like springbuck, and what an eye and form
Work. too-shell do as much work as three
There's no nonsense about Bessie, none at all
She's not fine lady, for all her fine looks"
"The two sisters seem very different" sale
John.
SAY, you're right there" said the old man
"You'd never think that the same blood ran
in their veins, would you9 There's three
years between them, that's one thing. Bes
sizes the youngest, you see-she's just 20 and
jess is %. Lord, to think that it is twenty.
three years since that girl was born! And
theirs was queer story, too"
"Indeed| said his listener, interrogatively.
SAY" he went on absently. knocking out
his pipe and refilling it out of a big, brown
jar of coarse cut Boer tobacco; "I'll tell it to
you if you like; you are going to live in the
house, and you may as well know it. I am
sure, Capt. Mel, that it will 60 no further
You see was born in England; yes, and well
born, too. I come from Cambridgeshire-
from that fat fenland down round Ely. My
father was clergyman. Well, he wasn't
rich, and when was 20 he gave me his bless
ing, thirty sovereigns in my pocket and my
passage to the Cape; and I shook his hand.
God bless him! and off I came, and here in
the old colony and this country have been
for fifty years, for was 70 yesterday. Well,
I'll tell you moro about that another time;
it's about the girls I'm speaking now. After
left home-twenty years after or hard on
Tiny dear old father married again, a
youngish woman with some money, but be.
meath him somewhat in life, and by her he
had one son and then died. Well, it was but
little heard of my half-brother, except that
he had turned out very lady, married and
taken to drink, till one night some twelve
years ago, when strange thing happened. l
was sitting here in this very roonl-ay, in
this very chair-for this part of the house was
up then, though the wings weren't built-and
smoking my pipe and listening to the lashing
of the rain, for it was very foul night, when
suddenly an old pointer dog had, named
Ben, gave bark.
"'Lie down, Ben; it's only the Kaf1irs,'
said 1.
"Just then thought heard faint sort of
rapping at the door, and Ben barked again,
SO got up and opened it, and in came two
little girls, wrapped up in old shawls or some
such gear. Well, l shut the door, looking
out first to see if there were any more outside,
and then stood and stared at the two little
things with my mouth open. There they
stood, hand in hand, the water dripping
from both O.. them, and the eldest might
have been II. and the second about g. They
didn't say anything, but the eldest turned
and took the shawl and hat off the younger
that was Bessie-and there was her sweet
little face and her golden hair, and damp
enough both of them were, and she put her
thumb in her mouth, and stood and looked at
me till began to think that was dreaming.
"'Please, SIR said the biggest, at last is
This Mr. Croft's housc-Mr. Croft, South |
African RepublicT
ayes, little miss, this is his house, and this
Is the South African Republic, and l am he.
And now who might you be, my dearsF I
"'If you please, sir, we are your nieces, and
ne have come to you from England
"'WhatT l halloaed, startled out of my
Wits as well I might be-
"'Oh, sir, says the poor little thing, clasp
ing her thin, wet hands, please don't send us
away Bessie is SO wet and cold and hungry,
too. she isn't fit to 60 any farther
"And she set to work to cry, whereon the
little one cried too, from fright and cold and
"Well, Of course, took them both to the
fire and set them on my knees and halloaed for
Hebe, the old Hottentot woman who did my
cooking, and between us we undressed them
and wrapped them up in some old clothes
and fed them with soup and wine, so that in
half an hour they were quite happy and not
4 bit frightened.
"'And now, young ladies' said, come
and give me kiss, both of you, and tell me
low you came here
"And this is the tale they told me-com-
oleted, of course, from what learned after
ward-and an odd one it is 1t seems that
ny half brother married Norfolk lady-a
weet young thing-and treated her like a
log. He was drunken rascal, was my half
brother, and he beat his poor wife and shame
ully neglected her, and even ill treated the
wo little girls, till at last the poor woman,
weak as she was from suffering and ill health,
ould bear it no longer, and formed the wild
dea of escaping to this country and throw
ng herself upon my protection. It will show
low desperate she must have been. She
craped together and borrowed some money,
nough to pay for three second class passages
o Natal and few pounds over, and one day,
When her brute Of husband was away on
he drink and gamble, she slipped on board
ailing ship in the London docks, and before
10 knew anything about it they were well out
o sea- But it was her last effort,
oor, dear soul, and the excitement of
finished her. Before they had
een ten days at sea she sank and died, and
be two poor children were left alone. And
THAT they must have suffered, or rather
THAT poor jess must have suffered, for she